Hypothermia
by Angel Fantasy
Summary: Stuck in a cave with no fire during a blizzard, Kanda fights hypothemia tooth and nail past the point of exhaustion until sleep forcefully drags him into slumber. When all hope seems lost, Mugen decides to step in and save its master. Mugen x Kanda fic.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own D. Gray Man, no matter how I wish I could. That privilege belongs to Katsura Hoshino only.

**Author's Note:** This fic is totally mine, in the sense that it has not been written for any request in the DGMkinkmeme. The plot for this one-shot came from my mind alone. Enjoy!

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Hypothermia

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"Dammit..." Kanda whispered, as he desperately blew hot air on his quickly freezing fingers in an attempt to keep them warm.

His huddled frame shook violently as he rubbed his arms and legs periodically to keep the blood flowing in his limbs. The task proved to be difficult; the skin of his hands was already chapped from staying so long in the chilly air without mittens to cover them, and their wounds opened faster than his cells took to close them up.

His teeth clacked slightly, and his face is paler than usual, bordering on frosty looking with the ice that already has etched itself into his bangs, his eyelashes and his eyebrows. His lips are purple looking, and his breaths come in small puffs of hot air.

Outside, a blizzard is raging, the wind howls harshly, the night has fallen, and everything is dark.

_'So cold...'_

Another series of violent shudders shook his frame the moment he stopped rubbing his arms to rest a little, and he inwardly cursed his ability to feel so precisely.

He was so _tired._ He's been fighting hypothermia for hours now. For once, he just wanted to pause, take a break, and fall asleep.

But he knew he couldn't. He had to survive to get back to Headquarters with the Innocence fragment he'd recovered thirteen hours prior.

His eyelids dropped without his consent, and he snapped them open again, his vision blurred with fatigue. Feeling drowsiness overcome his senses, he pinched the upper skin of his hand, and focused on the pain to stay awake. He didn't care if his hand bled. It'd heal later.

He gazed morosely outside, to where the two finders that were previously accompanying him now resided.

They were dead, buried under numerous meters of snow. He was the only one fast enough to detect the danger and find cover before an avalanche suddenly came barrelling down the mountain to envelop the area in white particles. They didn't even attempt to dodge it, frozen in fear as they saw Death coming at them full force.

And now all the material that could create a fire was destroyed because of their inexperience, golems included. Pathetic morons.

Just like the ones that made him nine years ago.

The idiots didn't include protection into his genes when confronted with extreme temperatures. This was the only way for them to control him if he became uncontrollable; splash him with really cold stuff, and he'd be knocked unconscious in no time, for his body would shut down and go back into hibernation.

It wasn't for nothing that he'd been kept in a cold chamber until he awoke to the world. If the temperature was regulated correctly, it'd keep him alive and permit his blood to flow and fill his cells with nutriments.

But cold means ice. And how can he live if his wounds can't close because his cells are getting frozen past the point of proper function? If they all freeze, he won't have the necessary strength to keep his blood pumping. His cells will start to weaken, his genes will start to crack, and his whole assemblage will eventually break down, lotus flower bound or not.

And dying was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

As the cold invaded his limbs little by little to freeze what it could reach under the coat that was doing a poor job at keeping him warm, Kanda knew that Death was slowly coming his way. Reining the dread that was filling his stomach, he furiously rubbed his limbs again, desperate to keep his temperature stable and not fall into slumber.

_'Kuso...'_

Another hour passed, and despite his best attempts to keep his body awake, everything below his waist eventually shut itself down. His legs weren't obeying him anymore. He couldn't feel them, so numb they were, not shaking like they had done an hour before.

Drowsiness crept into his insides like a snake, paralysing his organs one by one. Fear started to clench his gut as the inevitable came closer, feeling like an eternity but truthfully only minutes in reality. He clutched Mugen instinctively, his body shaking not from the cold, but of insecurity. The sword clattered against his hip, tingling warmly against his skin.

Fatigue weighed his eyelids down, tempting his mind with the prospect of letting go. To stop fighting. To rest.

He was so tired...

But if he slept, he would die. He didn't want to die. Not yet. He hadn't found _that_ person yet.

He resisted.

But staying awake took so much effort, and that person was probably dead anyway.

His resistance wavered.

If he rested, he wouldn't feel the cold around him anymore. But he would still die.

Doubt filled his mind.

If he stayed awake, only pain awaited him, with the harsh reality that he didn't have much time left to live unless a miracle of some sorts happened and saved his sorry ass.

At the border of unconsciousness, he became indecisive.

To sleep or not to?

He didn't know which to choose anymore. He only knew that he was cornered with no way out to stay alive, and that scared him deeply.

_'I... I don't want to die! Mugen...'_ he thought desperately, gripping his sword with all the strength he lad left. Then blackness engulfed him, and he succumbed to slumber.

Unbeknownst to him, his Innocence started glowing. It sensed its master's growing distress, and didn't like it one bit. It didn't want to loose him.

It'd been horrified at first, to be forced to sustain the form of a pitiful sword unfit for such an amount of godly essence. But Master's care and respect for it had changed its view and made it love this appearance. Master had shown it all the advantages of having a sword.

He'd restored its pride by slaying thousands of Akumas, and given it a name to match its deadly reputation, which grew pretty quickly.

He kept it close to him protectively during travels, carried it around proudly, used it for other cutting purposes, stroked its handle absentmindedly when he was unsure of something but still kept his cool appearance, hugged it in his sleep when he had nightmares and needed comfort, and even confessed to it sometimes, although that last option was only done when he was absolutely sure that there wasn't a single soul in a three hundred mile radius.

No one had ever done all those things to this piece of Innocence before. Innocence, which was just a tool created to be used as they pleased, a weapon ready to be tossed aside the moment it was unable to activate or got crushed and destroyed. Kanda had clung to it like no other, even going so far as to bring back each of it's broken pieces together at the drain of his own life to avoid leaving it behind when they'd faced that evil Noah.

He'd given it affection. He'd given it trust. He'd given it love. He'd given it feelings.

He'd given 'Mugen' a spirit.

Now it was going to answer back. Master more than deserved it.

A green line traced its way down the whole length of the sword's handle, and from it came out a swarm of Hell's Insects. Now having eyes to see, Mugen took in what one of them saw, and directed its attention to Master. Seeing the limp state he was in, it directed the insect towards him, and poked his cheek with it's rod-like-nose to see if he was still awake.

Mugen hissed through the being's mouth as it registered the iciness that covered its master's skin, quickly connecting the dots and realizing the problem. The others, having heard the small sound, turned their heads to look at what was going on. Their eyes widened when they saw their unconscious summoner, and they hastened to help him. Yuu-sama had never fallen unconscious before, so it was quite shocking for most of them.

They copied Mugen, who coiled the insect around Kanda's right arm. They warped themselves around each of his limbs, and more came out when it was obvious that they were not enough to cover the whole body. Since they came from Hell, they were hot to the touch, and as such quickly warmed up the frosty coat, melting any ice that had accumulated in it.

"Is Yuu-sama going to be alright?" one asked worriedly.

"I hope so. He doesn't look good right now." responded another, anxious.

"It's a good thing that we have been summoned." quipped a third, relieved.

"Indeed, although I am curious as to who did it this time. I thought Yuu-sama was the only one capable to summon us...?" told a fourth, this one coiled around Kanda's head, a puzzled glint visible in its multiple red eyes.

Its statement was met with a chorus of grunts and low growls. Its siblings were just as confused as him.

Small conversations were started, mostly revolving around Kanda's well-being and their mysterious summoner. The insect that Mugen controlled never took its eyes off Master's face, still as a stone as it waited patently for him to wake up.

He did at dawn, stirring slightly. The insect around his torso noticed it first, feeling a change in his heartbeats.

"Look, guys! I think he's waking up!" it piped up, interrupting its sisters and brothers. They fell silent and inspected their summoner's face, noticing that his pale colour was a few tones redder, a sigh of health. Kanda started shaking, his muscles coming back to life one by one, chasing away the sleep and cold that had overwhelmed them.

Purring in encouragement, the insects tightened themselves protectively around him, emitting more warmth.

Frowning a couple of times as he regained his senses, Kanda lazily opened his eyes, puzzled and unsure of what exactly had happened for him to suddenly feel so warm. He was met with a dozen pair of red eyes staring back at him intently. He looked at them in bewilderment, wondering if this was a dream.

The silence was broken by Mugen's insect, which let out a cry of relief and untangled itself from his arm to lick his cheek with vigor, tickling him. The others cheered up at his shocked expression and nuzzled his torso, neck and head in affection, happy to have saved their master. All thoughts about their mysterious summoner flew out of their minds as they told him how worried they were and made sure that he was alright.

Unused to such shows of affections from his Illusions, Kanda was shocked at first, but quickly warmed up to them as the past events filled his mind. He petted the one licking his cheek as best as he could, and got a big, wet swipe in response. He chuckled at the odd sensation.

He was still alive. It wasn't a dream.

Letting tears of relief freely fall down his cheeks, he smiled, something he never did with other people, and let himself be loved by his insects. He didn't care if someone from another unit stumbled upon them right at this moment. He was too comfortable and felt too good to remove himself from their embrace.

The cuddling continued for another good fifteen minutes, and by the time it stopped the samurai was freely laughing, trying to stop Mugen's insect from tickling him more. The others, feeling giddy despite being from Hell, helped their comrade for a few minutes before they all stopped, letting the excitation drop down to a bearable level. They lovingly re-warped themselves around Kanda, and fell asleep one by one.

Grinning, the Exorcist petted them one last time before letting his head lean against the wall in contentment. His hand found Mugen at his hip, and he stroked the hilt gently. Somehow, he knew that his Innocence had done this.

"Arigatou, Mugen." He whispered, letting his eyelids fall shut to follow his Illusions into sleep. The sword sent tingles of warmth into his hand in response, happy that its master was safe and sound. The insect it controlled nuzzled his neck one last time before it too fell asleep.

That was how Lavi and Lenalee found him later that day, sleeping soundly with Hell's Insects warped protectively around him. Once the shock passed, they silently got out of his cave and stood on guard at the entrance, grinning at each other. They'd wait for him to wake up before returning to Headquarters.

The scene inside the cave would never be forgotten, this Lavi would make sure of it.

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**A/N:** And this is the end, my dear readers! My first Mugen x Kanda fic ever, an idea that has been nagging my mind lately while I was working on 'What Ignorance of Grown up Matters can do'. But don't worry, I haven't abandoned the story; in fact I've already started chapter 7.

Which pairing do you think would be best to write about next, btw the following choices?

1. Mugen x Kanda (sequel)  
2. Crown Clown x Allen  
3. Ozuchi Kozuchi x Lavi

I feel like doing option number 2, since I already have an idea for it, but I will take votes and ideas from you guys. I may include one or two of them in my fic, you never know...

**Plz don't forget to review! ^^**


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